Coexist

You may have seen a “Coexist” bumper sticker on some vehicles. We have one on one of ours. The sticker uses the symbols of several religions to spell the word “Coexist.” It thereby makes the statement that people who practice different religions need to learn to live together. It makes the even deeper statement that we need to respect and appreciate each other as we practice our particular religion.

It’s a noble and worthy goal. Like most noble and worthy goals, it’s difficult to achieve.

There are lots of reasons for that difficulty. For one thing, we only know what we know. Most of us who practice a religion practice the one we were raised in, so we believe what we’ve always been told and worship as we’ve always worshiped.

For another thing, we treasure our faith. It’s valuable to us, as it should be. But it’s a short step from treasuring our faith to thinking that other faiths have no value. That short step is a step too far.

For still another thing, we think our religion is right. We may think ours is absolutely right and others are absolutely wrong. Or we may think that ours is more correct than others. The truth is that few of us have ever practiced another religion than the one we follow now. We have the option of switching our allegiance to another religion, but chances are good that we never will.

It’s asking a lot for people who practice different religions to get along. After all, we have a hard time getting along within our own religions. There are many denominations within my Christian tradition, and there are many subgroups within those denominations and many sub-subgroups within those subgroups. Such groupings exist for various historical and social reasons. But they do exist, and they’re not going to stop existing.

The bottom line is that there have always been multiple religions. There always will be. One reason for this is that we’re dealing with God, and God is a lot to deal with. It’s mighty presumptuous for any individual or group to think they have God figured out.

Now, I believe with all my heart that God most fully revealed God’s self to us in the person of Jesus Christ. I am well aware that I was raised in the Baptist version of the Christian tradition. I am well aware that I was trained to be a Christian minister. Still, after all these years, I find following Jesus to be a most meaningful way to experience, worship, and serve God.

The “t” in “Coexist” is a cross, which is my religion’s symbol. The cross implies humility, selflessness, and service. As a Christian, I want my perspectives, attitudes, words, and actions to be carried out in light of the cross.

So to my fellow Christians I say, believe what you believe. Hold the convictions you hold. Practice the practices that you practice. Always be growing in your faith and in your knowledge.

But be kind, gracious, and loving about it.

We want everyone to know Jesus. But I doubt they’ll pay much attention to him if we’re jerks about it.

Walking in the Way of the Cross

Have you ever participated in the Stations of the Cross? If you’re a Christian, you should. It is a spiritually enriching and challenging experience. If you’re not a Christian, you’ll still find it an interesting and possibly moving experience.

The Stations of the Cross is an exercise in following Jesus as he moves toward his crucifixion. The First United Methodist Church of Barnesville, Georgia offers the opportunity to engage in this exercise from Tuesday, April 16 through Good Friday, April 19 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m.-noon in the sanctuary.

Artists from the church and community have provided wonderful visual representations of the various stations. I am privileged to be the author of devotions, written in verse, for each station.

The cross is a central symbol for the Christian church. We see it prominently displayed in and on many sanctuaries. The cross is a central symbol of the Christian faith because of its vital role in a central tenet of that faith: Jesus Christ died on the cross so we might be forgiven for our sins.

Most Christians have heard a lot of preaching about Jesus dying on the cross for us. Such preaching is helpful and true. It is basic to the gospel message.

But there is another aspect to the cross that we might not have heard quite as much preaching about. It’s an aspect that over the last few years I’ve found myself thinking, writing, and preaching about. The cross reminds us that Jesus died for us, but it also reminds us that Jesus calls us to die with him. Our calling to participate in what Jesus does on the cross is also basic to the gospel message.

Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”

When we put our faith in God by whose grace Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we also commit ourselves to following him. At the heart of following him is taking up our cross, which means willingly, purposely, and actively giving up our lives as he gave up his.

What does it mean to follow Jesus in taking up our cross and giving up our lives?

It means always to be looking for ways to serve God by serving others. It means to put others ahead of self. It means to do whatever we can do to help the oppressed and dispossessed. It means to practice love, grace, and mercy. It means to live humbly. It means to live peaceably. Such living should permeate our attitudes, our perspectives, our motives, our words, our relationships, and even our politics.

I hope you who are Christians will participate in the Stations of the Cross. I hope that as you follow Jesus to his cross, you’ll also ponder what it means to take up your cross and follow him. We all need to do better at it.

I hope you who aren’t Christians will participate in the Stations of the Cross. The exercise will give you a good look at who Jesus is and what Jesus did. It will also give you some insight into who Christians can be when they really follow Jesus.

(You can preview some of the artwork and devotions by following Barnesville First United Methodist Church on Facebook or by following michaell.ruffin on Instagram).

Nostalgia

My Good Wife and I recently traveled to Champion Stadium at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World to watch the last two Atlanta Braves Spring Training games ever to be played at that venue.

It’s the end of an era that lasted twenty-two years. The Braves moved their Spring Training headquarters from West Palm Beach to Lake Buena Vista in 1997. In 2020, they’ll move it to a brand-new complex at North Port, Florida, which is in Sarasota County. In fact, they played the final game of this year’s Spring Training in the new stadium. Reports are that it is fantastic.

I look forward to visiting the new place next spring. I’m sure it will be a great place to watch a baseball game. I understand that it’s configured so that 70% of the seats will be in the shade for a 1:00 p.m. start. It has the added advantage of having beaches nearby.

But I’m sad about the end of the Braves’ relationship with Disney. I admit I won’t miss such silliness as having Mickey or Goofy accompany the tossers of the first pitch to and from the mound. Still, Champion Stadium is the only place I’ve ever watched Braves’ Spring Training games. I will always wax nostalgic about it.

I expect to tire of hearing myself say, even as I sit in utter contentment at CoolDay Park (that’s it’s name) in North Port over the next couple of decades, “Remember how back at Disney/ESPN’s Wide World of Sports/Champion Stadium/Lake Buena Vista they used to…?”

We tend to be nostalgic. After the new Lamar County High School opens this fall, students who have attended classes in the current facility since 1975 will smile and say, “Remember when…?” People of my generation who grew up in Lamar County are that way about the schools at Booker, Gordon, and Milner.

And that’s okay. Memories that bring smiles to our faces are good things. Change is okay too, because it creates opportunities for the creation of new memories that will bring new smiles to our faces.

My nostalgia will always be tied to Dr. Howard Giddens, my teacher and mentor with whom I went to Spring Training every year from 1995-2005. For a few years, I went with a small group of friends. One year our son went with me. For the last few years, my Good Wife and I have made the trip together and will, Lord willing, continue to do so. (She loves baseball. It was a necessary prerequisite for marrying me.)

The best kind of nostalgia isn’t so much about missing the place or wanting to go back to the time. It’s about remembering the people with whom we shared the experiences.

The Braves have signed a thirty-year lease with Sarasota County to hold Spring Training at CoolDay Park. By the time it runs out, I’ll be ninety years old. Maybe the Braves will be ready for another change by then. Maybe I will too.

Who knows what I’ll be experiencing at that point (if anything)? Perhaps my wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be with me as I watch the Braves play some Spring Training games.

Wherever I am and whomever I’m with, I’ll cherish the people who are with me. I’ll also cherish the memories of the people who have been with me in years gone by.